Arasya
by RuGByXMaNGaGiRL
Summary: Two young girls get taken to a fantasy land where they must take on the roles of their other selves. But, what really awaits them in this land called Arasya? 'Under "Anime Crossovers" becuase it's kind of a mix of Magic Knight Rayearth and Inu-Yasha'


A young maiden of only fifteen sat in a throne room, the walls and floor made of all marble. There were pillars that stood erect against the walls between each of the five windows. On each side of the room were chairs and between them a crimson carpet that lead from the main doorway to the throne in which she sat.

She sat in the elegant throne, her white and gold dress floating around her feet. The dress hung on her shoulders, the sleeves covering her arms and hands. Around her waist was a large lavender bow, flaring out in the back. Placed on her shoulders, sleeves, and bottom of her gown, were extravagant ruby red jewels. Around her neck was that same jewel, placed on a band of gold.

She stood up, her long skirts filling out beneath her. She walked to a window in the throne room, looking out towards the kingdom. The young maiden opened the window, letting the fragrant breeze blow her long brown hair back. She closed her sapphire eyes and leaned out of the window, almost loosing her balance.

Strong hands gripped her waist before she could fall.

"Be careful highness. We wouldn't want to loose our beloved princess."

The princess turned around to see a female warrior of twenty years looking back at her with commanding and gentle green eyes. Her short black hair was placed on a stubborn yet gentle face. She wore a gray mail suit, the links small and light weight, with mail boots and gloves that wrapped around her middle finger. She had gold bands across her wrists, shoulders, waist, and across the top of her boots. Just above the center of her chest was the same jewel that the princess wore; a jewel was also placed on each gold band. At her left hip hung a narrow sword with a jeweled handle. Her back was draped with a dark crimson cape.

"Ramyna," said the princess, "I need to get out of this palace! I feel so confined. Can't we go into town for just a little while, please?" The princess had a pleading look in her eyes that the warrior just couldn't resist.

"Princess Ares," the warrior sighed, "you know I would love to take you into town, but as your personal protector, I don't believe it's safe. There are many bandits and spies from the other Kingdoms that would want your head."

The princess was silent for a few seconds. "I know," she whispered quietly. "But keeping me in this forsaken palace is just making me want to run away. Couldn't we ask my father if I could go?"

"Your father's away on a trip to the Western Kingdom, remember? We cannot get permission from him."

"What if we ask Azshiu if we can go? Maybe he can even come with us."

Ramyna smiled. "You really want to go, don't you princess?" Ares flashed a white smile and nodded her head. "Alright, let's go ask Azshiu."

Ares yipped in glee and hugged her protector. "Thank you Ramyna!" she said joyfully. She let go and, lifting up her skirts so she wouldn't trip, ran down the hallways toward Azshiu's chambers.

The princess could hear Ramyna's cries asking her to wait call after her. The princess did not listen to them and kept running.

Down the corridors she went, turning left, then right, then right again. She went down a flight of stairs and turned to the right. She was running so fast, she didn't realize that she had collided with a wooden door in front of her. It was beautifully carved with a gold handle and a jeweled plate going across the center of it. Above the door was written, in the Arasyian language, "Domain of the Protector."

The door opened to a young man of twenty years in age and about six feet in height, his copper brown hair cut short and his purple eyes looking down at the princess. He was dressed in a simple pair of baggy dark blue breeches and a baggy white shirt. Layered black boots were on his feet. He bent down and gave the princess a hand to take.

"Are you alright Princess Ares?" the man asked. Ares accepted the hand gratefully and rose from the ground, standing elegantly and erect in front of him. She was only about up to his shoulders he was so tall.

"Yes. Thank you Azshiu," she said.

Ramyna bound around the corner then, skidding to a stop in front of the princess. Both she and Azshiu looked at her.

"It's about time I caught up with you," she said. Ares giggled slightly.

"As a warrior you should be able to out run me, who, I might add, is wearing full skirts," the princess said.

"Very funny," the warrior responded tartly.

"Anyways," she said turning to Azshiu again, "I was wondering if I could go into town with Ramyna. She doesn't think it's safe for me to go, so could you go with us?"

"Honestly, I don't think it's any safer if I go with you," said Azshiu. The princess had that pleading look in her eyes that could make anybody's heart melt. He smiled a hearty smile and continued, "but for your sake, of course I will go."

She yipped gleefully and bobbed up and down before she stopped, laughing at her own silliness.

"Alright! Let's go!" she said. She turned on her heel and headed down the corridor but stopped when a callused hand rested on her shoulder.

"First, we might want to change into slightly less noticeable clothes," Azshiu said.

"He's right," added Ramyna. "We stick out like sore thumbs in these clothes." She gestured to the elegant clothes that they were wearing.

The princess sighed and nodded in agreement. They all decided that they would meet in front of Princess Ares's room when they were done. So, Azshiu turned around and closed the door to his room and Ramyna and Ares walked up the stairs. Ramyna's rooms were right by the princess's, so they separated almost as soon as they got into their own rooms.

The princess stripped off her clothes and chucked them on her bed in haste. Reaching behind her neck, Ares removed the necklace that showed she was royalty and placed it on her dresser. She was actually going to town! She ran over to her chest and knelt down, opening the top of it. She took out a baggy white shirt that hung off the shoulders. Placing that on her bed, she also pulled out a blue skirt and black bodice. She slipped the white shirt on and then pulled on the skirt, tucking the shirt in as she did so. She grabbed the bodice from the top of her bed and wrapped it around her.

Closing the chest top with her foot, she tied the lacings in the front. She sighed and looked at the dress she had crumpled up, which had now found its way to the floor. She leaned over her bed and grabbed it from the floor. Standing up, she walked over to an armoire and placed her dress in there.

"'A responsible princess is a neat and tidy one,'" she quoted from her etiquette teacher. She had been getting extra lessons in etiquette since she was bound to the palace-and boy did she hate it!

Bending down, she grabbed a pair of black slippers and slipped them on.

Walking across the room, she opened the door to see that Azshiu and Ramyna were already outside. Azshiu was dressed as he was before, only he wore dark green breeches instead of dark blue ones; he wore brown boots instead of black ones and he also wore brown gloves; he wore a green cape that went half way down his upper body in the front then went all the way to the floor in the back. Ramyna wore a simple pair of beige breeches and a simple white shirt. Over that, she wore a red tunic with two slits on the side for easy movement. On her feet were black boots and, of course, her sword hung from her left hip.

"It's about time you've changed," said Ramyna. "We've been waiting for a while." She handed Ares a string, suggesting that she braided her hair so she looked more like a commoner. When Ares finished braiding her hair, Azshiu stared.

"Even dressed as a commoner, you're still the most beautiful girl of all," he commented quietly.

Ares blushed. She knew that Azshiu cared for her deeply; some could almost call it love; and not the kind of love friends and guardians shared, but the kind that a man and a woman shared. She felt the same way, too.

"Thank you Azshiu," she said just as quietly.

Ramyna cleared her throat to get their attention. They both turned towards her and blushed.

"Either we can go into town, or we can stay here and I can watch you two flirt," she said shortly. They both blushed even deeper. Ramyna wanted them to be happy: to express their love and get married, but she knew that it could never happen. Her princess had to enchant a prince- which she could do easily- on her sixteenth birthday and marry one on her seventeenth. It was her job to keep all suitors, besides princes, away from her- even if it was Azshiu.

"She's right," said the princess, her blush still showing slightly on her cheeks. "Let's go." They all turned towards the main door and walked off.

They went out the extravagant doors of the palace and walked down the stairs to the main gate that separated the palace from the town.

Two guards stood at the gate, dressed in red tunics and silver mail. They had a sword on each of their left hips and held a spear in the right hands. They stood in front of the gate, reminding the princess that she wasn't allowed outside the palace. She told them that they were going into town for a little while and would be back before the sunset. Hesitantly, they let Ares and her companions pass, opening the gates for them and closing them soon after.

Ares danced around the cobble streets, Azshiu and Ramyna close behind. She spun around and did a traditional jig. She almost lost her balance before Azshiu gripped her and straightened her up. She took the hint and walked the rest of the way into town.

When they got there, all that the town had to offer fascinated the princess. There were stands full of cloths and food, jewels and books, and more. She gaped happily at all the sites, rushing to each one and looking over all the items. She walked over to a clothing stand first, picking up an extraordinary piece of cloth. It was a piece of red fabric, gold thread embroidered into it to form designs of birds and vines. She held it up against her chest, letting the long fabric drape down to her feet.

"Oh, Azshiu! Look at this fabric! Even some of the fabric at the palace isn't this beautiful," she said, admiring the embroidery work by running her hand over the stitching. Azshiu came over, placing a pair of leather gloves in a pouch attached to his waist; Ramyna was behind him at a stand, looking at a wide variety of daggers.

"Yes," he said, running a hand over the fabric himself. "You're right. The stitching is very neatly done."

"The finest stitching in the land of Arasya." Azshiu and Ares turned around and looked at the young woman behind the stand. She had long black hair that tumbled to her waist and wore a dark blue tunic-wrap dress over a white and light blue cotton dress; matching slippers were on her feet. Her hazel brown eyes looked at them kindly. "I did it myself," she continued, referring to the cloth that the princess held up and the rest of the fabric that was at her stand.

"You did all the stitching yourself?" the princess asked, aghast.

"Yes, miss. My mother taught me how. She said that I was a better embroiderer than she was. Of course, I don't believe so."

Ares folded the fabric up carefully and placed it back on the stand. Behind the stand owner was a beautiful lavender colored fabric; below that was a fabric of a darker shade. The stand owner noticed her customer's stare and took the two fabrics from behind her, splaying them out on the stand in front of them. Like the last fabric, Ares ran a delicate hand over the fabric, admiring the weaving.

"You may or may not be able to see, miss and sir," she said politely, "but there are small threads of silver in the lavender. It shines and glistens when it moves. This is a personal favorite of mine." As if to see if what the stand owner said was true, Ares unfolded the fabric and placed it up against her body, moving slightly and looking in admiration as she saw the sun light dance on the silver strings of the fabric. She smiled and folded this piece of fabric too, placing it on top of the red fabric; she also placed the dark lavender fabric on top of it.

"I'll take them all," she said. She took a silk pouch from her waist and gave the stand owner five pieces of gold. The stand owner looked at the gold with embarrassment and shock.

"Miss," she said, "this is too much for my work. The most it's worth is two gold."

Ares shook her head politely. "Good quality work should be paid for properly." She took the stand owner's hand and placed the gold firmly yet gently into her palm, closing the girl's fingers around it.

"She's right, you know," said Azshiu; the girls had forgotten that he was there. "Do you make dresses, young miss?"

The young stand owner nodded. "I was hoping to be hired as a weaver and seamstress for the princess herself, but I highly doubt that will ever happen," she said. "But, if you like, I could make a dress for you out of the fabrics you bought; the extra gold that you gave me would cover the cost for a dress."

The princess smiled at the offer. "I would be delighted," she said. "Come by my house tomorrow at noon. You can bring all your materials, and we can do measurements. My house is down the cobble road and behind a set of giant gates." The stand owner smiled and nodded.

"Okay. I'll be there at noon. Thank you for your service, miss."

"Wait," Azshiu said. "Before we leave, could you tell us your name? We've been talking for quite a while and yet we don't even know your name."

The stand owner grew wide-eyed. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Where are my manners? My name is Trisaria Arimaria. But, I'm Trisa for short."

"Well, Trisaria Arimaria, we'll see you tomorrow," said Azshiu walking away.

"Bye Trisa!" the princess said, waving a goodbye. Trisa waved back and smiled.

Ares and Azshiu walked around for a while, looking at the other stands. They met up with Ramyna and they compared purchases.

They were at the jewelry stand when Ramyna caught something out of the corner of her eye. She glanced and saw that there were two cloaked figures watching the princess. She stood in front of the princess, blocking their view of her.

Whispering in her ear she said, "Ares, we must be careful. There are two people watching you. We should leave soon." Ares looked at Ramyna and then out into the crowd- she saw no one.

"We're fine, Ramyna," she said. "We can stay a little longer." They soon moved on and Azshiu felt the presence of the cloaked figures as well. He glanced at Ramyna who was looking at him; her look confirmed his suspicions.

"Princess, I must caution you that there are people following us. We must return to the palace," he whispered.

"Azshiu, Ramyna said the same thing; I don't feel or see that someone is following us. We can stay a little longer."

Azshiu gripped her by the shoulders and made her face him. Ramyna stopped next to Ares, her eyes wide with surprise of the sudden gesture.

"Ares!" he said in a harsh whisper. "We must head back to the palace. Your life is in high jeopardy right now!"

As if to confirm his words, a small silver object spun towards the princess. Azshiu caught it between his tow fingers as Ares flinched. He held the small blade just centimeters from her neck.

"Azshiu! Look out!" shouted Ramyna, drawing her sword. Balls of liquid blue fire shot at him and Ares from a roof. Thrusting out his left hand, he produced a shield of white a copper magic, absorbing the blue fire. Ramyna jumped up and thrust her sword at the assassin on the roof. He fell to the ground, dead. She grabbed her sword from his chest and charged as another assassin shot liquid fire at Azshiu and Ares. She killed him too, but wasn't quick enough to stop him from producing the fire.

The protector picked up his princess and jumped out of the way before any damage could be done. He ran through the crowd, which was now in a state of panic, while Ares clutched to his shirt. He stopped at the end of the street and placed Ares behind him. Casting his arms out palms forward, he produced six threads of magic that wove through the crowd, killing the assassins on the ground.

Ramyna was on a roof close by. A group of three assassins were in front of her. She charged and thrust her sword out, slicing and killing an opponent. She did a crescent swing as another opponent charged at her with a dagger. Once he fell, she grabbed the dagger to kill the last assassin who was charging her. But she was a second too late and cried out in pain as his dagger blade left a deep gash in her arm, tearing her shirt. Her arm dripping in blood, she stabbed her attacker fast and hard in the chest, watching him drop lifelessly on the roof, then rolling off and falling onto the cobble street below. Tearing a strip of cloth from her already torn sleeve, she wrapped her wound tightly to stop the loss of any more blood. She removed her sword from the body of the other assassin and wiped it on her torn sleeve. Sheathing it, she jumped down to the ground where a group of onlookers were staring at the body.

"Alright!" she said. "Everybody, step back and go home! There's nothing to see here!" Murmuring, the crowd slowly disappeared until the only people on the street were the princess, her protectors, and the stand owners who were quickly collecting their belongings and heading for their own homes.

Ramyna bent down and removed the assassin's face cloth as Azshiu and Ares walked up. Disgusted, she turned him over with her foot and spat by his head.

"Ramyna!" the princess exclaimed, horrified and angry. "You should respect the dead! No matter whoit is!"

"This assassin doesn't deserve my respect, nor does he yours," she said, glancing at the corpse behind her. "He's a paid assassin sent by the Eastern Kingdom to kill you."

Ares gasped. "It's not surprising," said Azshiu. "They know that if they kill the successor to the most powerful Kingdom of Arasya, then their heir will take over the throne. What puzzles me is why it took so long for them to figure that out."

"Does it _matter_!" exclaimed Ramyna. "They figured it out and they're going to do all it takes to kill her."

"Then why haven't they gone after Ypae?" asked Ares, referring to her younger sister.

"Because Ypae is too young to take over the throne as princess. She must be fifteen years of age to pose a threat. She still has two years to go before the other Kingdoms come after her," said Azshiu.

"Wouldn't it just be easier for them just of the heirs to the Kingdoms to just have my betrothal? It would save them their hired assassins."

"Yes, it would be, but it seems that killing you is more fun to them."

"_Now_ we should head back," said Ramyna. "There's nothing left for us here." The others agreed and walked off. Ramyna looked back at the assassin one more time and looked away in disgust, catching up to the princess and Azshiu.

When they got to the main gates, the palace guards that Ares's sister, Ypae, had urgent news to tell her. Bewildered, Ares and her companions hurried to the palace. They pushed open the doors and went to the throne room.

In front of the throne was a young girl, wearing a white and lavender dress similar to Ares's. She had a gold band around her waist, where a dark lavender bow hung. She had two blue jewels on the gold band and one on the top center of her dress. Her coal colored hair was cut short on top but it went to about her knee in the back; it was tied with a dark lavender bow.

She turned around when she heard the footsteps of Ares, Azshiu, and Ramyna.

"Sister, what's the matter?" said Ares.

Princess Ypae looked at her sister and friends with tears in her crystal blue eyes. She was a spitting image of her mother, the queen, and had a blue jewel on the middle of her forehead.

Rising from her position from the floor, Ypae ran to her sister, tripping and almost falling to the floor before her sister caught her and hugged her tightly. Ares cooed to her gently and stroked her hair. Ypae's tears dripped off her cheeks and rested on her sister's dress.

"Ypae, what's the matter?" asked Ares again.

Ypae was silent for a while, choking only on her tears, before she spoke. "Father's dead," she whispered silently. "He was killed by an assassin from the one of the Kingdoms." Ares gasped, then rested her head on her sister's shoulder, her eyes brimming with tears. _I have to be strong,_ she thought, _for Ypae's sake. _She bit her lip to hold back her tears.

Behind them, Ramyna clenched her teeth and punched the wall closest to her, cursing as the wall cracked slightly. Cradling her throbbing hand, Azshiu calmed her down. He knew how upset she was- he felt the same way. However, he controlled his temper a lot better than Ramyna did.

Ares pulled away from her sister and stroked her cheek lovingly, forcing a sad smile. Placing Ypae's hands in hers, they rose from the floor; Ypae went to Ares's chin.

Turning to Ramyna, Ares said, "Ramyna, calm down. I know your upset like the rest of us, but you need to control your temper." Ramyna bowed her head and nodded solemnly, embarrassed. Turning back to Ypae, Ares continued, "How did you find out about the death of our father?"

"The Head Councilman told me. They said that they had received the body after you left for town," answered Ypae. "They said we could go see him when you got back."

"Then that's what we'll do. Come on, let's go see our father."

The princesses walked out of the throne room, the warrior and mage following behind. Ramyna and Azshiu knew what to do whenever royalty died; they were taught what to do: they would wait until immediate family had visited with their lost loved one, then, if permitted, they would be allowed to go in.

They all walked to their rooms and changed silently. When they emerged, the princesses wore identical outfits. They both wore dark silk dresses with embroidered black bodices. The dresses went to the floor and flowed elegantly, covering matching slippers; the sleeves clung to their arms and went slightly past their wrists. They each wore slender black bands around their heads and black veils hung from them, covering their faces.

Ares looked at Ramyna and Azshiu sadly. Ramyna was dressed in her mail and cape, her sword, as always, at her hip. Azshiu was dressed the most simply of the group: he wore a black cape and breeches, as well as black boots; he wore a simple gray shirt as well.

Silently they walked down the halls to where the king's body was. The hallways seemed darker in those few minutes, the sadness of the Royal Family filling every corner. Finally, they arrived at a dark wooden door. Two guards, dressed like the ones at the gate, stood in front of the door. They opened the door and bowed at the waist as the princesses walked in.

Ares bit her lip at the sight she saw. Her father, who was handsome in life, looked like a ghost in death. His skin was paper-thin and ghost white. He had several holes in his chest where arrows had been; on his throat was a thin slit where a knife had dealt the final blow.

Behind him was a beautiful figure, shrouded in darkness. The woman wore a dress of silk and lace, the skirts flowing from her minute waist. Her blonde hair was tied in a loose bun and a black veil covered it; it also covered her face. She rose from her seat and lifted up her veil. She, the queen, was beautiful. She had a gentle face and full red lips. Her eyes, though filled with tears, shined like green gems.

She walked around the dead body of her husband, her long skirts dragging on the floor behind her. She stood in front of her daughters, her posture elegantly erect. The queen smiled weakly at them. In respect, her daughters bowed their heads slightly and lifted up their veils. Ypae's jewel, which changed a different color for each emotion, was black.

The queen embraced her daughters and held them close. She was the most heart broken of them all; being only thirty-four, she had been married to the king for half of her life. She sobbed quietly, Ypae joining her, and even though she tried not to with all her might, Ares cried too. For a while, they cried silently, until the queen pulled away from her daughters and looked at them.

"How are you doing?" she asked silently.

"We're doing fine," said Ares.

"Yes, mother. How about you? Will you be okay?" said Ypae.

The queen, Sarya was her name, looked away from her daughters. She whispered, "I'll be fine, eventually." She walked back to her seat slowly and sat down. "It's just that," she continued, "it happened so suddenly." She placed her hand to her heart as a new flood of tears came from her eyes. She looked at her daughters and choked, "But I will never be able to overcome the grief and pain that my heart now holds." She removed a cloth from her sleeve and wiped her eyes. Ypae walked over and sat down next to her mother, whispering words of comfort to her.

While her sister did that, Ares walked towards her father's body. The king, Nicholas, looked peaceful, his strong and gentle face calm; Ares stroked it gently, and then kissed his forehead. Straightening up, she walked to the door.

"I'm going to let Azshiu and Ramyna in," she said. Opening the doors, she summoned them in to the room. They bowed respectfully to Sarya, who bowed her head in return, and walked over to the king. They both studied the body for a while before Azshiu straightened up and walked to the queen.

Bowing again, he said, "Your Highness, I will be able to find out which Kingdom killed the king. All you have to do is-."

"No!" the queen interrupted, standing up abruptly. "I will not let you use magic on my husband!"

"Mother," said Ypae, "you can trust Azshiu. His way is probably-."

"I've spoken!" she said. "Not a whisper of magic will touch my husband."

"As her Highness wishes," Azshiu said, bowing again slightly.

"If I may be so bold," said Ramyna, "I can find out which of the Kingdoms killed his Highness. If you permit it of course, your Highness."

Queen Sarya nodded solemnly and walked pass the others; Ypae rose from her seat. "If you don't mind," Sarya said, "I would prefer not to watch this. Please excuse me." She walked to the doors and opened them, the guards outside bowing.

"I'll go with mother," Ypae told Ares. She nodded and Ypae followed her mother out the doors.

As the guards shut the door, Ramyna ran her hands over the king's chest. She felt each hole in his chest slowly and carefully then traced her finger over the line on his throat. After doing the same process again, she bowed respectfully to the body.

"Well?" asked Ares anxiously. "What did you find out?"

Ramyna was silent for a while before responding, thinking over what she had just recently discovered carefully. "I may not be completely correct," she said, "but I'm pretty sure about what I've found out." She waited again before continuing, "These holes in his chest are definitely the effect of arrows. I know for a fact that they're not from the Eastern Kingdom- they prefer to use blades and daggers. The Southern and Western Kingdoms are known for using their arrows, but the slit on his throat means that he was attacked at close range, which is like the Northern Kingdom; but the only way that slit could've been caused was by a blade or magic, which the Northern Kingdom uses." She began pacing in front of the body, thinking intently.

"Do you think that the Kingdoms are forming an alliance?" asked Ares, sitting down. Azshiu and Ramyna looked at her.

"It could be possible," said Azshiu. "Even though our army is large and powerful, the Kingdoms know that if they join forces, they're more powerful."

"But what does that have to do with killing my father?"

Ramyna stroked her chin thoughtfully, an idea forming in her head. "I think they're trying to kill off the Royal Family," she said finally. "The Eastern Kingdom tried to kill Ares today, another Kingdom killed the king a few days ago..."

"One Kingdom for each member of the family," Azshiu interrupted. Ares and Ramyna looked him in bewilderment. "Don't you see? Each Kingdom is aiming to kill _one_ member of the Royal Family. So, we know that the Eastern Kingdom is aiming to kill Ares, so that eliminates them from the list of suspects. That leaves the Southern, Western, and Northern Kingdoms."

"Then," said Ares, "if what you suspect is true, that eliminates the Northern Kingdom for my mother. The Northern Kingdom has formed a peace treaty with the country my mother's from. They wouldn't try to kill her."

"That's right," said Ramyna. "I'd completely forgotten about that."

Azshiu traced the slit on the king's throat with his finger then pulled away. "It's not the Northern Kingdom," he concluded. "I don't sense any magic on him." Calculating the facts in his head, he said, "That means that the Northern Kingdom will come after Ypae, leaving the Southern or Western Kingdom aiming to kill the queen."

They all were silent, deep in thought, until Ares rose from her seat. Her protectors looked at her. "I think I know which Kingdom killed my father," she said silently. She looked at Ramyna. "Ramyna, didn't you say that my father was on a trip to the Western Kingdom?" She nodded. "Maybe," she continued, "the Southern Kingdom was afraid that we were forming an alliance with the Western Kingdom and that we would attack them."

"Yes," said Azshiu. "That makes sense. The Eastern Kingdom is aiming for Princess Ares; the Western Kingdom, Queen Sarya; the Northern Kingdom, Princess Ypae; and the Southern Kingdom, King Nicholas."

They all agreed that they should tell the queen and went out to find her. When they told her, she was angry, but she did nothing. She was too overcome by grief to do anything.

The next day, the guards came to Princess Ares with news that a visitor had come to see her. Puzzled, Ares went to the throne room where her visitor was. The visitor turned around and curtsied.

"How are you, your Highness?" she said.

Ares walked towards her guest. "Oh my goodness! Trisa, I'm so sorry. With all that has happened, I completely forgot that we had a meeting today. Please forgive me."

Trisaria Arimaria, or Trisa for short, shook her head. "Nothing to forgive, your Highness. I'm terribly sorry about your father, the king. May he rest in peace. Would you like me to come back another day? It would be no trouble at all for me."

"Oh, no! You're already here. Shall we get started?" Trisa nodded and they walked off to Ares's room for the fitting.

A week later was King Nicholas's funeral. The Royal Family as well as the town attended the ceremony. Below the palace was the Tombs of Royalty, where only the Royal Family was allowed. There, the king was buried, and the Kingdom went into mourning for two months; some, even longer.

For months after the funeral the queen went in to seclusion. She didn't eat or drink anything; she only stayed alive due to the persistence of her daughters. Everyday, she'd only accept one meal of water, bread, and some fruit.

She would sit in the room where her husband's body had been, cloaked in darkness. There was no light in the room except for the sun that came from the only open window. Her eyes could no longer adjust to the light of the outdoors; she could no longer eat three meals a day; and she could hardly even talk. The Western Kingdom gave up on trying to kill her because she was already so close to death.

While her mother was in seclusion, Princess Ares had to take over all the tasks and responsibilities. She dealt with all the affairs as if she _was_ queen; the only thing she couldn't do was leave the palace for meetings and such.

Eight months after the funeral, she was still playing the role as queen. It was only two months until her sixteenth birthday, and she was nervous. She knew that with so many people at her birthday celebration, assassins from the Eastern Kingdom would be able to disguise themselves. Even though Azshiu and Ramyna never left her side, she still felt that they would not be able to protect her.

One month before her birthday, her suspicions were confirmed. Each night she would have the same nightmare of her death, always waking up in a cold sweat. She knew that she was going to die soon after her sixteenth birthday. So, she did the only thing she could do: she prepared for her death.

It was the night of Princess Ares's sixteenth birthday. In her room, she looked at herself in the mirror nervously. She was wearing the dress that Trisa had designed and made for her. The light lavender silk was a strapless dress and flowed elegantly to the floor; it had a low back with a dark lavender jewel at the end; a sliver band was connected to that and went to the front where it ended with two more jewels; another silver band went across the top of the dress, a dark lavender jewel hanging from the center. Hanging from the top silver band were long layered sleeves of the dark lavender fabric; long layers of the fabric hung from the silver band on the waist and went all the way to the back, forming a train.

Placing her hands on her stomach, Ares walked over to her dresser where a manikin head held her crown. It was a silver band that went around her head and almost connected in the front; two dark lavender jewels were placed on the sides of her head on the band. Taking the crown from the manikin, she walked back over to the mirror. Slowly, she put it on her head. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, a nervous lump formed in her throat. She swallowed it hard and gasped for air; she was having difficulty breathing.

"Princess, are you ready?" Ramyna had come into the room. She was a strange beauty in a dress, although you could still tell she was a warrior by the sword at her hip. The top part of the dress was light mail and armor of silver and gold. A gold band was placed on of her upper arms, long crimson sleeves hanging from them; a long slit went from the top to the bottom of the sleeves, showing armored gloves with a red jewel on the top of them. A gold belt was on her waist, another red jewel placed where the buckle should have been; an elegant crimson skirt flowed from her waist.

Ares swallowed again and shook her head. "No. I'll never be ready for this," she said. Obviously uncomfortable, she changed the subject. "You look really nice in a dress, Ramyna." The warrior blinked then blushed.

"Maybe, but not as nice as you. I couldn't stand wearing one of these every day," she said jokingly. Noticing the distracted look on Ares's face, she asked, "Is something the matter?"

Ares, who was looking at the floor, looked up at her friend. "Hmm?"

"I said, is something the matter?" she repeated.

"Ramyna, you know as well as I do why I'm nervous."

Ramyna walked over to her princess. Placing her strong hands on her friend's shoulders, she said, "I know. But I will never let any harm come to you. I promise."

Ares looked at her friend smiling. "Thanks Ramyna," she whispered.

Someone knocked on the door then opened it; it was Azshiu. Although simply dressed, he had an air of authority about him. He wore a red tunic, a black belt pinned with a jewel on his waist, over white breeches and a gold shirt; he wore a black cape, boots, and gloves; the boots and gloves had red jewels on top of them. On his head was a crown like the princess's, except that a white cloth hung from it, covering the back of his head; these jewels were also red.

"Could one of you tell me why women take so long to get ready?" he asked jokingly. Ramyna smirked and walked over towards Azshiu. Friendly punching him on the shoulder, she left the room saying that she would give the two love birds a minute alone. Of course, both Azshiu and the princess blushed at that.

Shutting the door behind him, he walked over to the princess. Taking her hands in his, Azshiu kissed them both and then her forehead. "You look extremely stunning tonight, Princess Ares," he said. Ares was not surprised by the compliment but she still blushed. She thanked him and looked down at the floor. Concerned, although it was natural behavior, Azshiu lifted her chin up and looked at her; she wouldn't look him in the eye. "Why won't you look me in the eye?" he asked. "That's not like you."

She paused before answering. "Do you know how nervous I am?" she whispered. "Do you know that I will never be able to see you or Ramyna or Ypae ever again?"

Azshiu gently grabbed her faced, turning it towards him, and looked at her quizzically; she had no choice but to look him in the eye. "What nonsense are you speaking of?"

Ares explained to him about her dreams recently. When she was finished, he sighed. "Ares, dreams are only dreams. It doesn't necessarily mean it will happen."

"These aren't dreams Azshiu. Every time I wake up, I'm short of breath, like somebody was trying to strangle me in my sleep. And why would I dream of my death? In case you don't remember, you've been the one who's been teaching me about the meanings of dreams. And you were also the one who said I had the Sight. Or have you forgotten?"

Azshiu sighed again. "No, I haven't," he whispered.

"Then why don't you think my dreams aren't going to happen?" Now it was Azshiu who looked away. A few seconds passed before he answered.

"Because I don't want to believe that they're going to happen," he said looking back at her. Ares blinked, shocked by his answer. She looked into his eyes and saw fear in them.

"W-what?" she stuttered. Azshiu was never scared and to see that he was scared Ares. Again, a few seconds passed between them. Looking at him in somewhat disbelief, she said, "You're scared, aren't you?"

Now it was Azshiu who looked at her in disbelief. "Of course I'm scared!" he said in a harsh whisper. "I'm scared, because I don't want to think of loosing you."

Ares placed a delicate hand on his cheek. "Azshiu, you'll never loose me. I'll always be in your memories and" -she blushed at this- "in your heart." Azshiu blushed at this too and smiled.

A silent moment passed between them. However, that moment ended when Azshiu leaned in gingerly and placed his tender lips gently on the princess's. Ares blinked but then closed her eyes as the sensation of his kiss swept through her body and filled it. When he removed h

is lips from hers, the sensation stayed in her body. He nuzzled against her ear as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"How was that for a first kiss?" he whispered into her ear. He began to kiss her neck tenderly.

She leaned her head against his and whispered in his ear, "Don't you ever stop." He didn't; he kissed her lips again repeatedly, each time the same sensation sweeping through Ares's body. Azshiu ran his hands down her back, making her arch her spine.

When Azshiu freed his lips from Ares's, she said, "I wish that my party was over and everybody had left. Then we could be alone." They both blushed at that thought, but they also smiled.

"So do I," he whispered. "So do I."

Ramyna's voice from outside the room shouted, "Do I have to split you two up in there? Or do you think you're capable of making it out on your own?"

The two lovers laughed and blushed at Ramyna's comment. Offering his arm, Azshiu smiled down at Ares; she placed her hand on it and smiled at him too. Together they walked outside her room.

Ramyna had been leaning against the wall the whole time. "I didn't think you guys would ever come out!" she said sarcastically. "Are you about ready to go to the party?" The two nodded and they walked down the hallway to the Grand Ballroom.

The Grand Ballroom was filled with nobles and suitors, all dressed in their finest clothes. The Ballroom was large with four massive marble pillars at each corner of the room. Red and gold drapes were hung between each of the pillars; they glistened in the light that the massive chandelier in the center of the room produced. At the front of the room was a hallway, a red rug draped on it. Paintings of the Royal Family hung on the wall behind a grand staircase, which protruded from the hallway. On the left side of the Ballroom was a large glass door that led out to the gardens. A large glass arch was above the doors. Across from the staircase was a throne with four chairs: two smaller chairs sat on each side of two larger ones. On the marble floors of the Ballroom were tables, draped with red cloths, filled with delicate foods.

The room silenced as the princess and her companions reached the top of the staircase. Ares let go of Azshiu's arm as both he and Ramyna stepped aside, leaving her the center of attention.

Looking at the crowd, Azshiu spoke loud and clearly. "May I present to you, her Royal Highness, Princess and heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Arasya, Princess Ares Shyra Sarya." A loud cheer came from the nobles and suitors in the crowd below. Ares smiled a white smile and walked elegantly down the stairs. Following behind her was Ramyna, then Azshiu.

When she got to the bottom step, the crowd split in two, making a pathway for their princess. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the pathway as each lord and lady bowed and curtsied to her. In respect, she bowed her head slightly to each of them. She looked to her right at a large balcony. On it was the Royal Court Advisers, the Head Council, and all her teachers. They were looking down at her, seeing if she would mess up. They knew that if she ruined this, it would bring shame to their reputation. _Perfect,_ thought Ares to herself, _just what I need right now_. She looked away and continued walking down the pathway until she got to the throne.

Turning around, she looked again at the crowd. Again, she took a deep breath and began, "My fellow lords and ladies, welcome to the celebration of my sixteenth birthday. I would like to say that even though King Nicholas, my father and our king, has passed on, I, as well as the rest of the Kingdom, have worked hard to make the Central Kingdom of Arasya a better place for all of us." She smiled and continued, "Now, without further ado, let the celebration begin!" Another cheer erupted from the crowd as each lord and lady found their partner to dance with. Soon after that, a line of suitors came up to Ares and asked for her to dance. She accepted and danced with each one of them in the classic ballad of Arasya.

While she was dancing, she was brought into familiar arms. Looking up at her suitor she was happy and a little shocked. "Only suitors can dance with me you know," she said. Azshiu smiled down at her. Together, they spun around the marble floor.

"Am I not a suitor?" he asked, laughing slightly.

"The only suitors that can dance with me are princes."

"Well, how do you know I'm not a prince?" Ares looked at him, disbelief in her eyes, as they continued to dance.

"How do I know that you aren't?" she replied, laughing herself.

He smiled back at her. "Ah, I guess you'll have to wait until our wedding day to find out," he said as they were separated again. Ares was now dancing with another suitor as Azshiu, to his surprise, was dancing with Ramyna. For a while they were silent, dancing around the room; Ramyna was dancing quite well for a warrior.

"What did you tell her?" asked Ramyna, breaking the silence.

Azshiu said in response, "You know, you dance quite well for a warrior."

"Thank you, but don't avoid the subject. Now, what did you tell Ares?"

"I told her nothing." Ramyna glared at him. "Okay, okay! I was just talking to her about our wedding day."

Ramyna laughed at that. "Your wedding day? Why would you be talking to her about that when you know you two wouldn't be able to marry?"

Azshiu grinned at her. "Ah, that's what you think." Leaning in towards her, he whispered in her ear. When he pulled away, Ramyna looked shocked.

"Is that true?" she whispered. Azshiu nodded. "When are you going to tell Ares?"

"Soon," he replied. "Very soon."

That night, Ares lie in her bed panting heavily. She was having the same nightmare of her death, but this time the feeling was stronger. She jolted up in her bed in a heavy sweat, clutching her throat. She looked across her bed and saw a dark figure there. Lifting up her covers, she slid over to the side of her bed.

"Azshiu?" she whispered into the darkness.

The figure turned around and looked at her with cold eyes. Grinning wickedly, he said, "Not tonight princess." He lifted up his sword, already in mid swing. Ares screamed, closing her eyes as she awaited her fate. But after a few seconds, Ares was still alive. Opening her eyes, she gasped at the sight she saw. The blade only a few inches from her neck, the attacker had stopped his attack. The cause of that was the slender blade in his gut. The wielder of the blade was Ramyna, dressed in breeches and a baggy shirt.

"Not tonight," she said through gritted teeth. Pulling out the blade, she sliced off his head. It fell on to the bed and rolled off, making Ares place a hand over her mouth to stop the vomit rising in her throat. Ares got up from her bed and ran to Ramyna, hugging her tightly. Ramyna pulled her away and grabbed a robe from her armoire. "Put this on," she said, thrusting the robe at Ares hastily. "It's gold."

Doing as she was told, Ares put on the red silk robe and tied it. "What's going on?" she asked as Ramyna led her to the door.

"The palace is under attack," she replied, peering through a crack in the door; the hallway was clear. Leading Ares out, she continued, "It turns out that the Eastern Kingdom wanted to launch a surprise attack on the palace. They didn't expect that we would be ready for them." They walked quickly down the hallway, going down flights of stairs and turned left. The princess recognized the hallways they were now walking in. Arriving at a door, Ramyna opened it and dragged the princess in. Ramyna barred the door behind them.

"Azshiu!" cried Ares happily, as she ran to embrace him. Azshiu returned the embrace quickly then pulled away.

"Ramyna, did you hide Princess Ypae and the queen?" he asked. Ramyna nodded.

"They're hidden in one of the secret chambers below the palace. They're safe until the raid will be over," she responded. She walked over to a statue by the wall and turned it, opening up a secret passage way. "Come Ares. We have to get you out of harm's way." Ares looked at Azshiu sadly and leaned up to kiss Azshiu. "Ares!" Ramyna shouted from the passage. Ares looked at Ramyna reluctantly, then leaned up and kissed Azshiu tenderly. She hugged him again and he returned the embrace, hugging her tightly.

"I love you Azshiu," she whispered.

"And I you," he said.

Ramyna, frustrated, grabbed the princess by the arm. "We have to go now!" she hissed. "I promise you that you'll see Azshiu again." Pulling her away from Azshiu, Ares looked at him. As the door to the passage way closed, Ares knew that that would be the last time she would see him.

The warrior barred the door and pushed the princess forward down the dark passageway. A light emanated from the jewel on Ramyna's sword. The warrior explained that she had magic of her own, but it wasn't as powerful as Azshiu's.

They continued down the hallway, the light from the sword showing the way. They turned left into another passageway with stairs. Briskly, the walked down them, following the stairs as it spiraled. When it came to an end, the turned right, down another passageway. They continued to go down passageways for what seemed like hours. Finally, they came to a hallway with doors. Opening one, they walked into the room. It was completely bare except for a few furnishings.

Turning to the door, Ramyna placed her hands on it. As she concentrated, green threads, Ramyna's magic, was coming out of her hands. It flowed to each side and went through the walls. Green magic began to go through the border of the door. When she lifted her hands, the green light remained around the door. Turning towards Ares, the warrior wiped the sweat off her face. She walked past her and opened up another door. Ares, who knew what would happen if she didn't follow, walked behind Ramyna through the doorway as the warrior barred the door.

Following Ramyna down the passageway, the princess asked, "What was that?"

Ramyna, gasping for air, said, "It was a spell to lock all the doors in that last corridor we were in. If they have a mage powerful enough to uncover that spell, all the doors will be outlined with green, making them think about which door they will have to choose to find us. The only mages powerful enough to undo the spell completely are Azshiu and a few others, so we have a fair chance that they won't find it."

After this passageway they came to another door. Opening that, they came to a room with stone walls and floors. A large stone platform was in one corner of the room, a short pile of steps leading up to it. Torches on the walls and a candle chandelier on the ceiling were the only sources of light.

Ramyna closed the door that led into this room, barred it, and took in a deep breath. Smiling weakly at her princess, she said, "I haven't completely mastered that last spell. I didn't think it'd take this much out of me." She wiped a new layer of sweat off her face and sat down on the platform. Ares sat down next to her.

"Are we just resting here or is this where we're hiding?" she asked.

"Both," she said. "They won't be able to find us down here."

Together, they sat down there in silence, listening to what they could hear of the battle. After about an hour, they heard footsteps coming down the passageway. Ramyna and Ares sprang up as the warrior instantly drew her sword.

"Hide," she whispered harshly. Ares nodded and looked frantically for a place to hide. She saw a dark corner and hid there, not moving an inch. She had hidden just in time; by the time she had gotten to her hiding spot, the door smashed open.

Ramyna instantly charged at the first person to come in the door. The assassin, caught by surprise, didn't have time to bring up his sword; he was brought down in a matter of seconds. The other assassin already had his sword drawn and swung it down hard on Ramyna. She lifted up her sword and blocked, gripping her handle with both hands for more support. Pulling away, she stepped back and charged again. He blocked and pressed down hard on the sword. Ramyna gritted her teeth to hold back a scream of pain. Pulling back, the assassin circled her, eyeing his opponent. Spinning, she did a half crescent swing and came down hard on his shoulder that held his sword. He, unlike Ramyna, cried out in pain. Switching the sword to his other hand, he slashed at Ramyna, leaving a gash in her stomach. She stumbled back and gasped for air.

During the battle, Ares looked on in her hiding spot. Suddenly, she bent over, clutching at her chest. Some force was trying to drain her life force from her; it was working. White threads of hair were starting to appear in her brown hair. She was turning ghost white as she fell on her knees, grabbing the stone under her hands.

Ramyna looked over and cried, "Ares!" She ran to her aid, completely forgetting about the battle she was in.

The assassin laughed wickedly. "Ah!" he said, "It seems as if Master Sarmin's spell has taken its effect." He walked towards them, his blade gleaming in the light.

Ramyna awoke from her concern of Ares when she felt a sharp pain sweep through her back and stomach. She cried out in pain as the sword was pulled from her back; it had gone all the way through her body, leaving a deep wound in her stomach. Clutching her stomach, she fell to the ground, her blood coming out of her body heavily. Ramyna would normally be able to get up, but she was so weak from using her magic and fighting the assassin, but she just couldn't.

The assassin turned the warrior over with his foot and kicked her in the rib cage, making her gasp for air. Smirking, he said, "I let you die a slow, painful death." Turning to the princess, he looked at her with an evil grin on his face. "As for you, princess, a beauty such as yourself should not die a slow death. So, I will ease your passing."

Gripping his blood soaked blade, he walked over to Ares. Ares was still clutching at the ground, her hair almost completely white now. Leveling his sword with her neck, he laughed. Bringing up his sword, he was stopped, like the other assassin, from killing Princess Ares. However, this time it wasn't Ramyna's sword that stopped him, but her remaining magic. She was propped up on her elbow, her right hand pointing at the assassin. Green threads of magic were coming out of her fingers, going right into his head.

Dropping his sword, he put his hands to his head, crying out in pain as the green magic wove threw his head. Blood with tints of green was dripping from his mouth as he screamed, his eyes rolling back. Seconds later, he burst into flames of green magic and disappeared, the only thing remaining of him was the sword he had dropped.

Ramyna collapsed on the floor, a few silver strands in her black hair; almost all of her life force was spent with that last bit of magic she used. Ares looked at her fallen friend. All her brown hair was completely white, her skin ghostly pale, and her lips, cracked. She crawled over to the warrior and held her strong hand in her delicate ones. Kneeling, Ares closed her eyes.

A sapphire glow formed around her and a green glow formed around Ramyna as she spoke. "By all the power of Arasya," she said in a hoarse whisper, "I, Princess Ares Shyra Sarya of the Kingdom of Arasya, give you the life force of Ramyna, the Warrior of Arasya, and my own life force, to call to this land the people who have a part of our souls in their hearts. Bring them here, to the Kingdom of Arasya!" Spirals of sapphire and green magic shot up from the princess and warrior. White magic, their life forces, wound around their magic and brought them together, forming a crystallized sphere of magic.

Ares collapsed next to Ramyna, whose hair had now turned completely white, and smiled. She had saved the Kingdom of Arasya, her Kingdom. With that final thought, she, Princess Ares, and Ramyna, the Warrior of Arasya and Protector, died.


End file.
